With Your Eyes Half Closed
by Kaara
Summary: It's not really love. Just, you know, something better. 100Fics Challenge. GenIno.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** With Your Eyes Half-Closed.  
**By:** Kaara.  
**Disclaimer:** Naruto is owned by Kishimoto and associates.  
**Rating:** A range of PG until R, mostly for language, sexual situations and stuff.  
**Note:** So. There's this 100fics challenge with prompts and stuff and I thought it's a pretty rad reason to write shitty little drabbles on Genma/Ino, since I'm forever deprived of them anyway so why not do it myself ha ha I'm seriously in a whole new realm of pathetic. But anyway. 100 drabbles. Will be updated randomly; some will be short, some might just spawn into something more. I don't know. But it helps. Therapeutic, even. Oh yes, warning for changing tenses between drabbles. Yeah.

So. Um. Enjoy, I guess? More slice-of-life thing. I'd love to get feedback, just so you know.

* * *

**001. Smoke**

"That's a filthy habit," Genma remarks, languidly chewing on his senbon as he waits for Ino to finish writing their mission report. His bandaged wound itches something fierce and he thinks that the faster he can get home (get Ino home, into a hot shower or something, preferably with a lot of nakedness involved), the better. The thought cheers him up considerably and he scoots closer to the chuunin, digs his chin into her shoulder.

Ino takes a drag from the cigarette perched daintily between her lips and gives him a minute glance, a half-scoff. "I don't complain about your oral fixation, so stop bitching about mine."

* * *

**002. Sex**

Sakura looks skeptical. "He's old."

"Who cares," Ino shrugs. The club thrums around them, pulsating with life and everything fast and beautiful. She catches Genma's eyes from across the room (again) and deliberately arranges herself into a pose that better showcases the amount of skin she isn't covering. His eyes darken and she can tell, even in the dimly-lit orchestrated chaos around them. Ino licks her lips. Her blood sings in anticipation. "I heard he can go on all night. And then some."

"Rumours," Sakura dismisses with a flick of her wrist, her lips a thin, cherry-red line of disapproval. Always a prude, until you get enough alcohol in her. "You don't know if it's true."

Ino picks up her drink (something colourful and delightfully bitter, probably poisonous) and presses a kiss against Sakura's cheek, a trail of sticky lipstick and glitter. "Well, time to find out."

* * *

**003. Boredom**

Genma looks into the hospital room with an expression bordering apprehension. Which he doesn't really wear that often (nonchalance is pretty much his default expression anyway) but it's pretty self-explanatory because he remembers the room to be pristine-white, not this madhouse of colours. It looks as though a garden has sprouted overnight inside, flowers cascading in thick waves between darkgreen foliage. Come to think about it, that might not be too far from the truth.

He spots Ino smack in the middle, she of the prettily-scowling face.

"It got out of control again, huh?"

She flings her hands up in exasperation. "I can't help it! I told them to discharge me but they won't listen!"

"You just need to calm down." Genma spots a chair and drags it close to the bed, pulling at the tangles of ivy creepers that cover its plastic. "This, uh, ability is feeding on your emotions."

"I'm bored," she sulks, glaring at the cluster of geraniums inches away from her toes. The geraniums flutter for a second, before they change colours. Ino turns to Genma, a flash of hysteria in her eyes. "Get me out. Please."

"It's Hokage's order to keep you here. Until they figure out what's wrong with you."

"There's nothing wrong with me!"

"There's a mini jungle growing inside your hospital room, Ino," he charitably points out. "You're a walking natural disaster."

Ino sulks harder and the vines coiled around the headboard turn threateningly spiky. "I can't believe you just called me a disaster."

Genma reaches out and cups his fingers around the soft curves of her face, his thumb rubbing soothing circles to appease her before her new ability erupts into something more dangerous. Knowing how viciously protective Tsunade can be when it comes to her hospital, Genma rather not aggravate the situation. "You know what I mean."

She leans into his touch, expression clearing out from the petulant scowl she has been wearing all morning and lips curling into a pleased half-smile. Her eyes flutter close, accompanied by a contented purr that skitters straight to Genma's groin. He debates kissing her right then and there, already halfway out of his seat to follow that train of thought through when he realises that something is poking at him.

There are giant roses. With equally gigantic thorns, blooming over the pale gold of Ino's hair like a grotesque bouquet of red-and-gold.

Genma sighs in defeat and gingerly extracts his face from the threat of disfigurement through mutinous plants. Ino blinks at him. "This sucks."

* * *

**004. Death**

"I'd die for you!"

Ino's lips twisted into a sneer and she cocked her hip, contempt darkening her eyes. The setting sun painted hues of orange and yellow over grey concrete, over the contours of her face and it would've been romantic if she was not poised to cut. "And I'm supposed to feel flattered for that?"

The young man reeled back. Genma could see panic settling into the handsome features. Pity, to fall for Yamanaka Ino, of all people. "I-I thought-"

"Dying is child's play," she snapped and she could be cruel, Genma had known her to be crueler. She could divide and conquer hearts with a smile, break them just as easy. "What use are you to me if you're dead?"

"But-"

Ino's eyes caught Genma's, lingered like a secret even as she said, "Once you're strong enough to live, then come and find me."

* * *

**TBC**

* * *

Comments would be lovely and cherished!


	2. Chapter 2

**007. Cats**

Genma was exhausted. The mission had been borderline suicidal and it was a wonder that he managed to arrive in Konoha generally unscathed, except for minor injuries that didn't require much healing. The same thing couldn't be said about Raidou, whose right femur was shattered in the pursuit at the end of the mission. They had only managed to weasel their way out of that particular tight spot when back-up arrived, in the form of Ibiki and his minions from T&I. Raidou was dropped off at the hospital after they made sure that his situation wasn't life threatening (Anko poked at the leg all the way back, eliciting colourful death threats from Raidou - Ibiki maintained that if Raidou had the strength to bitch, he could damned well walk back to Konoha on his own).

Genma made a beeline for a neighbourhood several blocks away from his. He was exhausted. And grumpy. And sort of depressed, since he lost his favourite senbon (a part of the set that he received as his Jounin examination's graduation present) in a swamp somewhere north of Fire Country when they were unceremoniously ambushed by renegade Mist nins. One of whom wielded a form of water llamas that exploded upon contact.

Genma vowed to include a few choice words about alleged mission ranks in his report because _what the fuck that was not a B-rank, you bureaucratic monkeys_.

His residual wrath aside, Genma landed on her balcony soundlessly, careful as to not stumble into various potted plants (herbs and poisons alike - he couldn't really differentiate them so he stuck to the DO NOT TOUCH policy, just to be safe) crowding the small space and disarmed the traps over the sliding door. What he did not expect when he stepped into her apartment was the giant panther curled up in the middle of her living room.

_Holy sh-_

Genma took a startled half-step back, only to freeze when the panther growled loudly, its eyes narrowed in warning. They glitter in different shades of gold and Genma quickly ran through twenty six different exit strategies that did not involve him being cat food.

"Oh my god, what now." The light flickered to life, a flood of fluorescent spilled through darkness and the lecherous part of Genma was pleased to see that Ino wore his shirt to bed. It reached the top of her thighs and her hair tumbled over one exposed shoulder in a tangle of white-gold, eyes hazy with sleep even as she blinked at Genma. Her smile was slow and warm, and she tucked the kunai in her hand into whatever space pocket kunoichi had for those kind of things. "You're back."

"Yeah." He raised an eyebrow. "Nice kitty you've got there."

The panther growled again, before it leisurely stretched and moved to twine itself (rather too closely for Genma's liking) around Ino. She reached out to rest a hand on its head. "I'm working on my summoning technique. Hiro is my temporary escort."

"I thought you wanted something discreet." The '_that giant panther was the antithesis of covert operations, what the hell were you thinking_' part was left loudly unspoken. "Like mice." Genma decided that he could deal with mice. Mice wouldn't look at him like he's supper.

"I changed my mind."

"Huh."

Ino shrugged in that specific way that meant she wasn't going to offer him any more explanation than that. Genma was well-versed in the various ways Ino conveyed her feelings through the shifts of her body; his favourite was when she writhed under him, exposed and thoroughly debauched. The shirt slipped lower over the swell of her breasts, which reminded Genma why he was there in the first place. He took a step forward.

Hiro growled again.

Genma could physically feel his patience cracking.

"I don't think it likes me."

"Oh please. _He_'s harmless." She proceeded to demonstrate that very fact by scratching the back of its ears, earning her a contented purr and an affectionate lick to the back of her hand. Genma's jaw tightened at the flash of challenge in the panther's eyes when it turned to him. "See?"

_That thing was as harmless as a katon jutsu to the nuts_, Genma thought. He cleared his throat. "I think one of us," he paused to glare pointedly at the panther, "has to leave for tonight."

Ino continued stroking the smooth fur, dark against the pale ivory of her skin even as her lips pursed in thought, and Genma grinned triumphantly when she murmured, "I think so too."

* * *

Somewhere across town, twenty minutes later.

"So, basically. You got cockblocked by a cat?"

Genma resisted the urge to stick a senbon right through Aoba's jugular for the comment, as well as the lack of sympathy that came with it, and that must be saying something about his psyche because he could never really say _no _to a bit of friendly tussling (_especially _when it's Aoba, who could be an asshole on his best days).

Genma gritted his teeth and signaled the bartender for another drink instead.

* * *

**TBC**

* * *

Easing slowly back into writing. Reviews would be lovely?


	3. Chapter 3

this is an au. model/actress!ino and bodyguard!genma abound. it's written according to the prompts, so some parts are switched around chronologically. apologies in advance.

* * *

**part 1**

* * *

**008.** **Fans**

* * *

Ino huffs in disdain and narrows her eyes at Shikamaru. "This whole thing is totally unnecessary."

"Your father insists. You know how he gets when he's worried."

"It's just some letters-"

"Written in blood. Detailing what he would do to you once you realise how you're 'destined' to be with him," Shikamaru sighs. He pulls at his tie and Ino notices the dark smudges under his eyes, the way his shoulder seems stiff with tension. "Just go along with it. One week, maximum. My men are out there trying to locate your stalker."

There's no way out of it. Ino knows how protective her father can be, especially since he has reiterated his displeasure over her refusal to have a permanent security detail and with the arrival of those threatening letters, his displeasure has peaked into outright hassling. Shikamaru must have bartered with the patriarch of the Yamanaka Family behind her back, since there seems to be a solitary guy assigned to be her shadow. Instead of Inoichi's preference for a whole team of ex-Marine. Ino figures she should be thankful for small blessings.

"_Fine_." Shikamaru's shoulder eases and she tries not to feel too guilty. Ino turns to the only other occupant of the room aside from Shikamaru and her. He's dressed in a white shirt with sleeves rolled up to his elbows, a pair of dark slacks and returns her scrutiny with a raised eyebrow. "You. Who are you?"

"Shiranui Genma," he says, the words muttered around the toothpick between his teeth. He doesn't extend a hand. "You done, princess? 'Cause I still need to pack up some stuff."

Ino grits her teeth and behind her, Shikamaru groans. "Don't you have a female bodyguard, Shika? _Anyone else_?"

"I would've asked Tenten but she's still tied up to another job. I trust him, Ino."

_Great_.

* * *

**009.** **Party**

* * *

Genma doesn't really like parties. Sure, he's down for a group of friends coming over, throw back a couple of beers and general good times with lots of embarrassing stories in between. But he soon finds out that when it comes to the Yamanaka heiress, parties pretty much look like extended and overcomplicated charades orchestrated more to impress than to enjoy. She plans and frets over them, tries on dresses and shoes and god-knows-what-else designers lavish upon her and spends hours on the telephone. Mostly talking to her manager and someone called 'Sakura' (or Forehead, depends on her mood).

"What do you think?"

Genma blinks. His mind skitters to a stop. "Excuse me?"

Ino huffs and gestures at the intricate mass of satin and lace currently wrapped around her body. He follows the arc of her hand, spends more time than necessary staring at the swell of her breasts and hip but he figures that babysitting a model-slash-actress should have its own perks. He remembers the first time he sees her emerging from the pool in her New York apartment; talk about a wet dream. Perhaps sensing that Genma's mind has decided to run off tangent again, Ino prompts, "_Well_?"

"You look nice," he offers because what the hell does he know about dresses anyway. Genma wonders if he should ask for hazard pay, since his job description doesn't include growing a vagina.

"Nice," Ino repeats in a flat voice. After a few days with her, Genma can basically gauge her reaction just by the way she says things. Right now, her tone reads '_fifty seconds to a hissy fit_'. She collects the ridiculous mound of satin into her arms and advances towards him. Genma sinks deeper into the sofa. "You said 'nice' to the Valentino gown too!" Ino jabs an accusatory finger at Genma's chest. He's beginning to feel very much violated. "And the McQueen! And the Balenciaga!"

He swats her hand away and crosses his arms defensively across his chest. She peers down at him, hair spilling everywhere and blue eyes flashing like thunderstorms. Genma thinks that she looks gorgeous like this, like someone who's made out of hellfire itself. He stops that thought as soon as he realises that his interest should be strictly professional. Right. "What do you want me to say? You look nice in everything."

Ino opens her mouth but for a second, she looks at lost on what to say. Which is a first, since the girl mouths off to everybody and can talk her way into anything if she so wishes. Eventually, she presses her lips into a thin line and stalks back to the changing room, but not before throwing an incomprehensible look over her shoulder at him.

Genma shrugs, settles into a more comfortable position and resigns himself to another hour of torturous waiting.

He should've taken up sudoku or something.

* * *

**010. Eyes are the Windows to the Soul**

* * *

"You have very lovely eyes, Miss Yamanaka."

Ino smiles graciously at the compliment, even though she has heard the line countless times before. Men are such unoriginal creature. Especially when his attention is more southward than her eyes. "That's very kind of you, Senator."

"None of that now," the middle-aged politician chides, pats a hand over Ino's elbow. She resists the urge to flinch. "Call me Kato."

"Then I insist you call me Ino." She feigns interest as he launches into an enthusiastic narration of a story from his youth, _ooh_s and _aah_s obligingly at appropriate places. His hands are constantly touching her, briefest physical contacts that send disgust skittering down her spine. Ino tries a tacit retreat, only to have the senator match her step with his own.

"Miss Yamanaka," Genma murmurs, somewhere from her left elbow, and Ino breathes in relief for the interruption. _Knight in shining armour_, her mind supplies, quick and cynical. _Since when do you need help anyway. _Ino excuses herself from the senator, soothes his complaints and allows Genma to lead her from the floor. They find an unoccupied balcony overlooking the intricate puzzle of a Japanese garden, reduced to odd silhouettes in the embrace of darkness. Ino finds it amusing that Genma almost immediately loosens his collar. He catches her looking and grins. "Not good at being fancy, I'm afraid."

"Don't worry," she laughs, conscious of a touch of self-deprecation she doesn't even know she harbours. Ino remembers the first time her mother had dressed her up for a formal party, the lessons in etiquette and everything in between. _You are a lady now, Ino. Act like one. _She was ten. "It gets better."

He studies her quietly in the privacy of their secluded corner. Music filters through indistinct conversations, makes them seem lightyears away from the world Ino has come to love and loathe in equal measures and when Genma opens his mouth, she finds herself leaning closer to catch the question. "Does it?"

Ino takes a sip of champagne, bittersweet on her tongue, and doesn't offer him an answer she doesn't even pretend to have.

* * *

**011.** **Fairies**

* * *

Her apartment looks like something out of an IKEA catalogue, minimalistic decoration and modern furniture and expensive pieces of art. Genma memorises the layout his first time around and he notes the exits, checks the security system in place. Ino uses a specialised system, one he thinks Shikamaru has personally crafted for her, based on its complexity alone. He pities the burglars who would even attempt breach this particular fortress. Genma settles into a room next to Ino's, pastel colour scheme and a teddy bear nestled between the pillows as if she thinks that he might need the company. Which is kind of bizarre. He picks the bear, fingers sinking into soft-scratchy fur.

The door opens and Ino strolls inside, changed out of her dress into a worn tee shirt and pyjama bottoms. Her hair is piled up in an untidy bun and she looks younger, more vulnerable without the shield of her millions-dollar America's Sweetheart rigmarole. Genma thinks he might understand why the whole world finds it all too easy to fall in love with Yamanaka Ino. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," he says. His only luggage is the duffel bag thrown carelessly at the foot of the bed. "I'm gonna call the boss to report."

"It's weird. Shika, being 'the boss'. Makes him sound like someone from The Godfather," Ino comments. She comes across surprisingly polite, nowhere near the bratty little princess he met in Shikamaru's office much earlier. Genma figures he should be thankful that she's even trying to be civil. Her eyes drop to his hand and (to his horror) the teddy bear. "You've met Captain Pickles."

"...Captain?"

"Pickles."

"Huh."

"He will guard you from nightmares. And evil fairies."

Genma tries to decide if Ino is pulling his leg, one of those weird attempts at being friendly but the look on her face is completely serious. Solemn, even. He carefully places the bear back onto the pillows. "...Thanks?"

Ino ducks her head, mutters a quick _goodnight_and it's only when the door closes behind her that Genma hears the loud peals of laughter from the other side of the door.

He glares at the bear. Which only stares back at him with its placid button eyes and stitched-on smile.

* * *

**012. Calendar**

* * *

"Don't you get tired of it?"

Genma frowns at the question. He looks out of ceiling-to-floor glass fixture, at the expanse of grey sky and lethargic clouds and tries to remember her schedule for the day. "I don't follow."

Ino flips the pancake and looks away from the stove to stare at Genma. Her apron reads '_kiss the cook_', something that he might seriously consider if she keeps asking him inane questions. Just to shut her up, of course. "You're on the job 24/7."

_Oh._He shrugs. "I get paid. A lot."

"Yeah, but..." she trails off, attention once again on the pancake before her. There's already a stack on the table, golden brown with dots of chocolate chips in them and Genma wonders if she's always been this domestic. He's prepared for a personal army of cooks, assistants and maids when he first accepts the job but the only one he has met so far is her manager. Who, quite frankly, reminds him of his now-retired drill sergeant. "Nobody likes working all the time."

"I'm not always working," he says. His coffee is lukewarm when he takes a sip. "I get down time in between assignments, you know. A couple of weeks to sit back and relax."

Ino adds the last pancake to the stack and sits across the kitchen island, all languid lines and perfect poise. "Your girlfriend don't mind the long hours?"

Genma raises an eyebrow. "Is that a subtle way to probe into my personal life?"

"I'd hardly call that subtle," Ino counters but her tone is mild.

He forks a pancake into his plate and tops it with a generous pat of butter, takes another sip of coffee as he manoeuvres the toothpick into a more convenient position. It starts to drizzle just then, soft pit-pat of raindrops over the silence. He doesn't look at her when he says, "My business is to keep you safe."

He doesn't say _your business is to keep out of my business_.

Ino nods. "Okay."

When she leaves the kitchen without another word, Genma thinks she must have heard the unspoken part too.

* * *

**TBC**

* * *

I don't know. I just write stuff, apparently.


	4. Chapter 4

more model/actress!ino and bodyguard!genma au. because i love them, sorry.

* * *

**part 2**

* * *

**013. Picture Perfect**

* * *

"What the hell happened to your face?"

Ino looks up from her cell phone and quirks an eyebrow. Her _green _eyebrow, to complement her equally green hair. Which is looped into some very intricate looking knots, all around her head. When Genma left to get coffee and that girly, complicated order of a drink Ino likes so much, he's pretty sure she had looked less... moss-like. "I'm a wood nymph."

"Huh?"

"For the shoot." She beams at the coffee cups in his hands. "Which one is mine?"

He pulls back easily, putting more distance between Ino and her coffee. Mostly to see the way her forehead scrunches and the beginning of a pout on her face. "You sure you need more caffeine? You've already had two for breakfast."

Her eyes widen in mock disbelief. "Are you seriously holding my coffee hostage right now?"

"Maybe."

"_Shiranui Genma, give me the coffee._"

He smirks when Ino makes an aborted lunge towards him and dangles the cup just outside of her reach. "Or what?"

"Or..." Her eyes dart around, looking for ammunition before she crows in triumph and snatches up something that looks like a spray can. Genma takes a step back, out of trained wariness against the unknown. "I'll turn you green too! Ha!"

"Green's not really my colour."

"We'll see!" She slips off the chair and advances towards him, brandishing the spray can professionally. Genma wonders if he should bring her to the shooting range, see how she fares with actual weapon. Might even do her good in the long run to know how to handle a gun.

He realises belatedly that she's humming a familiar theme song and can't help the wide grin that cracks across his face. This girl is just full of surprises. "JAWS? Seriously? I thought wood nymphs are supposed to be herbivores?"

"Not when you keep them from their caffeine fix," Ino retaliates, the teasing lilt of her voice offsetting her attempt at a threat. Her gown trails behind her, imitation leaves rustling with each step as she circles him. He smirks at the look on her face and matches her movement with his own. "Are you ready to surrender yet, coffee-stealing heathen?"

Genma opens his mouth, about to refute that claim because he paid for the coffee, _thank you very much_ but before he can say anything, they are startled out of their own little world by the snap of a camera from the side. Ino blinks, catches Genma's eyes and simultaneously, their heads jerk towards the source of the sound. That turns out to be a dark-haired young man, who is lowering a camera that looks complicated enough to be a prop from Star Trek.

Ino lowers the spray can and stares at the photographer. "_Sai_."

Sai, oddly oblivious to the arctic quality of Ino's voice when she addresses him, smiles. "Hello, Beautiful."

Genma silently mouths '_beautiful?_' at her, raises an eyebrow to punctuate that with a question mark. Ino rolls her eyes and makes vague gestures that pretty much say '_shut up_'. "You're early. I'm not done with my make-up yet."

"Dickless drops me off on the way to the hospital," Sai says and Genma thinks that the kid has a weird way of smiling. It looks foreign, like he's trying on something that doesn't suit him quite right. _And who the hell is unfortunate enough to be called 'Dickless'?_ "You should do that more often."

"Do what?"

"Smile like that." He closes the short distance between them and tilts the camera, to show her the captured moment. His eyes flick to Genma over Ino's downturned head, as vacant as they are unreadable. Genma decides that he doesn't like the kid; too much of an anomaly. He'll need to call Shikamaru, see if he checks out. Sai's attention returns to Ino when she straightens with a perplexed frown on her face. "Is something wrong?"

"I look the same."

"Not at all." Sai shows the camera to her again, as if making a point. She still doesn't look too impressed. "You look happier when you're with your boyfriend."

Ino blinks. "My...boyfriend?"

Sai's eyes stray towards Genma again. "Is that not the correct term? I'm sure Ugly informs me that-"

Genma bites into his toothpick, leaves Ino's coffee in a precarious balance over her make-up table and makes his way towards the half-finished set.

He doesn't hear her response, but her laughter trails behind him like a procession of mirthful ghosts.

* * *

**014.** **Bedside**

* * *

Ino is a terrible patient.

"Just—"

"_No._"

Absolutely _horrible_.

Genma hovers over the bundle of blankets that is his current charge. He's supposed to make sure that she takes her medicine on the hour and so far, he's met with as much resistance as if he's trying to feed her rusty nails. It's worse than that time he babysat his niece who was down with measles. At least then the kid had the excuse of being five.

Shikamaru better gives him hazard pay for this.

"-me a story?"

"What?" he mutters distractedly, trying to read the label on her bottle of medicine.

"Tell me a bedtime story."

"You've got to be kidding me."

She peers at him from behind her fluffy fortress, glassy ice-blue eyes and the downturned unhappy line of her mouth designed to appeal to the side of him that endures small, furry animals. He can almost feel his resolve crumbling.

As if aware of his impending surrender, Ino sniffles. Very loudly and very deliberately. She's not even _that_ sick; the doctor tells him with a good-humoured smile that it's just a mild case of flu. She makes it sound as if she's dying of cancer. "Please?"

Genma's shoulder sags. "If you promise to take your medicine—"

"I promise!"

.

Thirty minutes later, Genma looks at his phone when it bleeps, informing him of a text message from Shikamaru. Which basically amounts to '_hang in there_' and an update on the stalker situation (_nothing concrete yet_). He thumbs the power button and tosses the phone onto Ino's bedside table, amidst a clutter of tissue boxes and fashion magazines.

Genma looks down at the headful of disarrayed gold hair tucked comfortably against his side, one of her arms flung across his mid-section and half her blanket draped over his legs.

She burrows deeper when he shifts, eyebrows wrinkled in the beginning of a frown.

He reaches out and runs his fingers through her hair until she relaxes again, sinks deeper into the folds of sleep, curls closer to him.

Genma stares at the ceiling and sighs.

* * *

**015. Hotel**

* * *

The headline reads, '_YAMANAKA HEIRESS IN ANOTHER SEX SCANDAL._' And '_BEAUTY'S NEW BEAU'_.

"You don't seem too concerned," he comments as he settles into the chair opposite hers.

She looks at him over the top of her fifth tabloid, proclaiming '_PRINCESS AND MYSTERIOUS PRINCE CHARMING?_' over the grainy picture of them leaving The Hilton the day before. Ino is easily distinguishable, with her wheat-gold hair and long legs bared in denim shorts, while Genma is fortunate enough to be rendered almost unrecognisable beside her. Their heads are bent together and he has an arm loosely looped around her waist, more intimate out of context and she is captured mid-laugh with the morning sun painting pastels over her ivory skin.

Genma remembers how she nearly tripped and how light she felt in his arm when he steadied her.

"This is nothing. You should see the one that calls me a pill-popping junkie. Apparently I can't take aspirins for my headache without it being a huge deal," she laughs carelessly and tosses the tabloid onto the coffee table between them. It joins its compatriots, each as trashy and preposterous. "Daddy won't be pleased though."

"You can just tell them I'm your bodyguard."

Her eyes crinkle in half-moons when she grins at him. "You're not as good-looking as Kevin Costner."

That remark surprises laughter out of Genma and he tosses his toothpick at her, saliva-coated end first.

She grins at him, dazzling and triumphant.

* * *

**TBC**

* * *

i miss writing them like this. ehe he.


End file.
